Really happy with getting this for free on the Vita, probably would not have tried it otherwise. Love the medal system, unlockables, and most of all the playground mode.

Playground mode brings to mind some older games with freestyle racing modes in huge outdoor areas like Motocross Madness and Big Red Racing where you could just drive off in a direction and jump off whatever huge hills you came across and just explore. I remember it being pretty fun and relaxing. Can anyone suggest any modern racing games that do something like this?

I don't know of any off road ones like Motocross Madness but there are some open world street racers with huge jumps like Burnout Paradise. People still play it online too. Not just the races but the challenges too, like everybody meet at a certain place and barrel roll over the rest of the players.

Great, thanks for the suggestion. Very eager to try it. I can't believe how far out of the racing game scene I have been.